LeLacheur Park to Host Futures Collegiate Baseball League Team in Lowell Starting in 2026

LeLacheur Park, a ballpark in Lowell built on the banks of the Merrimack River, is regaining a baseball team.

After losing a team called the Spinners five years ago when the Red Sox's short-Single-A affiliate was one of 40 teams contracted by Major League Baseball, the city sold the stadium to UMass Lowell.

Following several discussions with the city and state, the school began a search for a new baseball team to join the university's River Hawks.

Starting next summer, LeLacheur Park will be the home facility for a Futures Collegiate Baseball League team. The team will be an independent New England-based six-team circuit comprised of mostly New England collegiate players or natives.

“Lowell and LeLacheur Park is a place to bring your family. It's a place for great summer baseball, and we're excited to be bringing summer baseball back to Lowell,” said UMass Lowell chancellor Julie Chen in a statement obtained by the Boston Globe. “One of the reasons that we're excited in particular about the Futures League is that this is a league [for] college athletes, graduating seniors, [and] student-athletes that are like the ones that play on our River Hawks Division 1 baseball team.”

A new owner for the team has not been identified, said Joe Paolucci, commissioner of the league. He hopes that the sales process will conclude by October. The team also remains unnamed.

According to a Minor League Baseball official who spoke to the Globe, the last owner of the Spinners, Dave Heller, still holds rights to this name.

Other teams in the league include contracted minor league teams from New England who kept their names. Their names include the Vermont Lake Monsters and Norwich Sea Unicorns. The other teams are the Nashua Silver Knights, New Britain Bees, Westfield Starfires, and the Worcester Bravehearts.